"Windblume Festival, Windblume Festival—first Lantern Rite, then Windblume, one festival after another! And that means feast after feast! If there were festivals every day, I could eat delicious food every day!"
["Hmph! Glutton Paimon, eating without growing a brain. Even during festivals, the food costs money. If there were festivals every day, you'd eat Lumine-sensei into poverty sooner or later."]
Hovering lazily in the air, Paimon froze mid-flight, scratching her head in worry. "Ah… you're right. Then maybe festivals every day wouldn't be so good. Earning money is tough… Lumine, if—if you ever really run out, just tell me. My little treasure chest is for times like that!"
["Heh! Everyone knows that's your secret stash. Not like me—I'm open and aboveboard, and only feel sorry for our master."]
"Y-you—don't go spouting nonsense!"
["Hahaha! Look at you, already flustered. Think about it, apart from giving Lumine-sensei shoulder massages, what else can you do better than me?"
"I can do a lot! As long as it's something humans can do, I can do it. You're the one with a single function!"
["Unidentified Flying Object!"]
"Brainless lump of rock!"
They were at it again. Lumine smiled helplessly, then noticed Victor Wang seemed distracted—so lost in thought he didn't even react when Xiaowen flew out on its own.
"Still brooding over your loss at the Crux Clash Tournament? I think making the top eight after less than a year of sword training is already an achievement. And the one who beat you… I think his name was Rongshi? He reached the semifinals. His strength was extraordinary—even I found him tricky to deal with."
"Ah… sorry, I drifted off. It's not just about the tournament…"
Many experts had competed. Victor Wang noticed several. If it were a real battle, life or death, and without elemental power, he'd be doomed against them.
There's always someone stronger, always a higher sky. Especially in Liyue, steeped in a long history of martial prowess and chivalry. He wasn't so arrogant as to sulk over only reaching the top eight.
"My feelings are complicated. If I had to give an example… it's like this: I prepared myself for a difficult, uncertain exam, and suddenly I'm told the exam's been postponed, so I get a few more days to play around…"
"An exam?" Lumine was quick to understand. "You mean Inazuma? If that exam allows for teamwork, you could consider me."
"…I'll consider it. Oh, and when you have time, lend me your map. I'll have Xiaowen mark the locations of the Electroculi. For now, we'll part ways."
He grabbed Xiaowen—still bickering like a child—and stuffed it back into the Dragon Tooth Sword Armor, then waved goodbye and veered toward Dawn Winery. Unlike Lumine and Paimon, who were purely here for Windblume's fun, he bore a task entrusted by Beidou…
"This is the list the Alcor wants to reserve. Here's the contract. Captain Beidou said she hopes the receipt will return to her along with a shipload of wine."
Diluc flipped through the papers casually. "Asking for a quarter of our total Windblume Festival production in one go… you joined her fleet?"
"No, I'm just riding her ship. Running this errand counts as paying for my ticket."
A heavy sigh.
"So, she sent you, an uninvolved party, leaving me no room to negotiate. Just how much profit is she making off Dawn Winery's wine in Inazuma, to press so hard…"
"I've heard that wine brewed during Windblume is blessed by Barbatos himself, and tastes better than any other. Is that true?"
The faintest curve touched Diluc's lips, but he didn't answer directly. "If you believe it, then it's true. Enough about that. Since you're sailing with Beidou to Inazuma, did she already tell you about that matter?"
Victor Wang's blank reaction gave him away.
"Seems not. But I think you should know. Someone in Inazuma saw Wilbur Cobb—and the Cursed Sword."
Victor Wang's breath caught sharply, his chest rising and falling violently.
137 days. It had been 137 days since the chief instructor was consumed by the sword. In its illusion, every second of reality stretched into an entire day. 137 days X 24 hours X 60 minutes X 60 seconds—what he actually endured was…
11, 836, 800 Years.
Furina, Dainsleif, the Hilichurls, the remnants of Khaenri'ah—they had suffered through five hundred years, a span even the Archons couldn't ignore. But the chief instructor… he'd been trapped in the endless loop of a single false day, for nearly twelve million years!
The number was staggering. So vast it numbed the mind. Even gods would go mad from such torment. If not for that rainy night… perhaps it would be him suffering this punishment now.
He never forgot. He didn't dare forget. But with his enemy hiding in the shadows, his overwhelming strength had always struck only empty air. Now, at last, it surfaced again.
"Why hasn't such vital news been announced?"
"In Inazuma, things are… complicated. Everyone knows about the Vision Hunt Decree. Even Vision bearers struggle to survive. Recently, many ordinary members of the organization have gone missing. Under such pressure, fear is everywhere. So, messages can't be transmitted normally—and false ones abound. This report about the sword came from the 'Winged Lord' himself. That's why we trust it completely."
Even someone as strong as Diluc frowned tightly, unable to ease his expression.
"You could say Inazuma has cut itself off from the world."
"It already did when it closed its borders."
"No, it's different." Diluc shook his head gravely. "Our organization has means to bypass the isolation and pass messages. Not once in five hundred years has there been a true communication blackout. Up until last year, everything was still fine. Something must be happening in Inazuma. Our comrades there… are truly suffering."
"I've wondered since joining. In Inazuma's state, how does communication even work?"
"…The organization has 'Long-Distance Communication Units' in every nation. Their duty is exactly as the name suggests. You only need to know that they can exchange messages across regions instantly. Don't pry further."
Long-distance communication… like Yelan's Fascinating Bracelet, Alice's Communication Bracelet, or even telephones?
Either way, such a method could indeed spread word across Teyvat in a single day. That answer was convincing enough.
"Beidou has the mission of resolving Inazuma's crisis. If you go with her, and Wilbur Cobb is tied to it, you're fated to plunge into this whirlpool."
Victor Wang clenched his fist. "I will have revenge."
"No matter what, don't lose your reason. Take that from me."
Diluc once burned with fury over his father's death and the Fatui's Delusions, hunting them across seven nations in endless battles—until he was saved at death's door. Only then did he awaken from hatred. Not forgetting vengeance, but choosing a more rational path.
"I'll remember that."
"That's all I'll say. I'll take Beidou's contract. You—are you heading back to Liyue next, or to Mondstadt for Windblume?"
"I'll check out Mondstadt first."
"Good. Then carry a message to Kaeya for me. Tell him the 'Apple Blossom Wine' he ordered is ready, and he should come collect it."
"I can just bring it to him."
"No." Diluc rejected flatly.
No?
Ah… he wanted Kaeya to return, to use Windblume as a rare chance for brothers to meet. Victor Wang nodded knowingly.
"You seem to be imagining something. Don't. It's just that during Lantern Rite, anything one can do personally, one shouldn't rely on others to do."
"Mm? But asking me to deliver your message is also relying on others, isn't it?"
"..."
"..."
They fell into silence. For once, Diluc was the one left speechless. After a moment, he sighed with closed eyes. "Truth is, I had no obligation to tell Kaeya at all. If you won't, then let him come ask himself someday. Only then will I tell him the wine is ready."
"Alright. I'll be off then. Bye."
Expressionless, Victor Wang turned and left. Forcing someone like Diluc into a corner like that brought a very particular sense of satisfaction.
But Adelinde, head maid of Dawn Winery, who had witnessed everything, couldn't feign composure like her master. She personally escorted Victor Wang out, and at their parting, pleaded, "Please, sir, do deliver the message to Master Kaeya. And add this as well: 'Dawn Winery's Windblume Festival is waiting for you.' I beg you."
"Don't worry. I will."